Ohio State chooses Hardball's Chris Matthews as commencement speaker

Chris Matthews, host of the MSNBC talk show Hardball, will be the marquee speaker at Ohio State University’s spring commencement ceremony.

The university announced today that Matthews will speak at noon on May 4 as about 10,000 students receive their degrees at Ohio Stadium.

“On behalf of Ohio State, it is my pleasure to welcome one of the nation’s most experienced political journalists as our spring commencement speaker,” OSU Interim President Joseph A. Alutto said in a statement. “A longtime public servant, New York Times best-selling author and television news anchor, Chris Matthews will offer a unique perspective on our country’s history and future.”

Matthews started Hardball in 1997 after serving as host of another nightly show for three years. He has been on the air every weekday night since, according to OSU. Before his career in television, Matthews worked as a newspaper journalist for 15 years, often covering Washington, D.C. for newspapers in San Francisco.

He also was as a presidential speechwriter for Jimmy Carter and a top aide to former speaker of the house Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, Jr.